1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to woodworking planers and, more particularly, to a planer clamp assembly used to secure and position a piece of rough sawn lumber such that the lumber may be passed through the planer to be milled.
2. Background Art
Woodworkers and others using wood to create toys, furniture and the like often begin their projects with a piece of rough sawn wood or lumber. It is generally far more economical to begin a woodworking project with a piece of rough sawn lumber or wood rather than lumber that has already been milled to a certain specification by a wood mill. Thickness planers are one tool that has been used by woodworkers for many years as a means of smoothing and leveling a piece of rough sawn lumber. Typically, planers are a second or third step in the evolution of preparing a piece of rough sawn lumber for use in woodworking projects.
In general, the evolution of a piece of rough sawn lumber begins with a jointing function to establish a datum or flat surface. Typically, an edge may be jointed with the jointer to create an edge datum. Once the edge datum is established a surface of the wood may be run through the jointer to create a surface datum. Many passes though the jointer may be completed in an attempt to create a very flat and straight edge or surface. The initial edge datum and surface datum may be critical because the edge and surface will be the starting point for the development of the second edge and surface and the production of a final piece of lumber that may be used in a woodworking project.
Once the datums have been established, a table saw or the like may be used to create a second flat and straight edge. In this operation, the first edge is placed against a flat straight metal fence that extends parallel to the saw blade and allows the first edge to pass along the fence as the second edge is created by the saw blade. Allowing the first edge to travel along the flat and straight fence may produce the same flat and straight second edge.
With both edges established as well as a first surface, the piece of lumber or wood may now be passed though a planer to create a second flat and level surface. Typically, the piece of lumber may be positioned on a flat, straight surface or table that is connected to or positioned near the planer. Often, a wood planer may require that an initial surface datum be established so that the surface datum may be fed along the table surface. Allowing the first surface or datum of the wood to be placed on the table and fed into the planer along the table may produce the same flat, level straight second surface. The cutting tools of the planer will remove the high spots of the second surface. The piece of lumber may be fed into the planer several times to create a flat level second surface. Once a satisfactory surface has been attained, the piece of lumber may now be ready to be used in creating the toy, piece of furniture and the like. If the initial edge and surfaces are not milled to be level, smooth and straight, the second edge and surface may not be level, smooth and straight either and the piece of lumber may be useless for any project.
While the above steps or operations have been used for many years to create a finished piece of lumber ready for use in creating a piece of woodwork, there are, however, several drawbacks. First, the width of a piece of lumber that may be used in woodworking may be limited to the size of jointer and planer in use. For example, if the width of the jointer is six inches, the width of the board that may be milled is limited to six inches. While jointers of varying width may be purchased, there may be a limit to the size of the jointer due to space concerns in a small workshop and of course the expense of purchasing and operating larger equipment. The limited width of boards may be a concern in the creating of table tops. Being limited by narrow widths may mean that many of the boards may have to be assembled together to create a wider table top. For instance, if a project calls for a table top having a width of twenty-four inches, four six inch boards would need to be assembled together to create the table top thus leading to extra work to do so and a possible loss of strength at the joints as well.
Second, the surface datum created by a jointer is often dependent on the skill of the operator as well as the jointer itself. An operator generally guides the piece of wood or lumber across the jointer table and cutting blades. If the operator is not skilled and/or careful, many passes over the jointer may be required to create the smooth surface which may result in a loss of time and wasted material.
Third, as described above, the milling of a piece of rough sawn lumber may require up to three separate pieces of wood milling equipment: a jointer, a table saw and a planer. The ability to remove a single piece of equipment from the equation may free up shop space and reduce expenses to allow one to purchase a single larger piece of woodworking equipment so that larger pieces of rough sawn lumber may be milled for larger projects.
Therefore, a need exists for a woodworking planer clamp assembly that may be sized to secure and level a piece of rough sawn lumber so that the lumber may pass though a woodworking planer to create a level surface datum. The planer clamp assembly may also limit operator involvement in the planing operation and may eliminate the need for a jointing operation to create a surface datum.